E. Jean Carroll Verdict Against Trump Finally Last Straw For Republicans, Right? Right?
We are silly on Wednesdays!
Noted scumbag and White House squatter Donald Trump was held liable Tuesday by a Manhattan jury for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. He was not found liable for raping her, but the jury did determine that he defamed her when he later called her claims a “hoax” and a “con job.” The defamation occurred while Trump was simultaneously defiling the presidency. It's the first time a former president was found liable for sexual misconduct, but in fairness, Sally Hemings had limited legal options.
This was a civil trial, so Trump isn’t facing jail time, which he deserves (that’s a different case), but like O.J. Simpson, he’ll have to pay up for his crimes. The jury awarded Carroll more than $2 million on the battery claim and slightly less than $3 million on the defamation claims.
Asked on its verdict sheet whether Carroll, 79, had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump raped Ms. Carroll,” the nine-person jury checked the box that said “no.” Asked whether Carroll had proven “by a preponderance of the evidence” that “Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll,” the jury checked the box that said “yes.” Both allegations were elements of Carroll’s battery claim
There is presumably a legal distinction between sexual abuse and rape, but I’m not getting into that here. Instead, let's appreciate the post-verdict statement from Carroll, a very brave woman who stood up to that asshole and held him accountable for once in his miserable life.
“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth,” Carroll said in a statement Tuesday.
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Trump has been crapping out in the courts lately, so his response to the verdict was predictably unhinged and all-caps ragey. He whined on his fake Twitter, which is now probably no worse than actual Twitter:
"I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE — A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!"
Rapists don’t require formal introductions before assaulting women. His “I don’t know the lying liar” defense is both insulting and stupid. He’s also been photographed with Carroll, who was relatively famous in the 1980s and Trump is obsessed with celebrity.
He also seems to overestimate the legal rigor of historical witch trials. It’s not like they tied him up and dunked him in water to see if he’d sink like an innocent murdered person or float like an evil witch. He received a fair trial, but Carroll proved with a preponderance of evidence that he’s a crawling piece of slime.
Trump is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. This verdict would normally prove inconvenient to a candidate’s presidential ambitions, but Trump is not normal and neither is the flaming bag of poo posing as a major political party.
After Trump’s "Access Hollywood" tape (i.e. "the confession") was released in 2016, Republicans immediately issued stern words, and many withdrew their endorsement. That lasted for less than a week, but those were profiles in courage compared to the mealy- mouthed gibberish coming from so-called “good” Republicans on Tuesday.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, who voted to convict Trump during his second annual impeachment, said, "You feel for Ms. Carroll. A woman should not be assaulted, end of story. Period. The fact that someone assaulted a woman in that way is reprehensible." He added that the verdict should be a "consideration" for Republican primary voters.
Yes, Republicans should at least consider whether to support the rapist. Cassidy is spinning this as the moral equivalent of deciding whether to go with salad or the fries with your sandwich.
Kevin Cramer from North Dakota agreed that the verdict was "very serious," but honestly, do real people even care if the president’s a rapist?
"But I think as a political matter, it's less interesting to the people outside Washington DC than it is inside these walls or on Capitol Hill,” he said pathetically. “I'd much rather have a president that doesn't have that history."
Wow, that’s some stellar eulogy material for Cramer: “The Senator always preferred that America didn’t have rapist presidents. He never backed down on that position, until it was either the rapist or Kamala Harris.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville from Alabama declared that the verdict "makes me want to vote for him twice." Apparently, a candidate found liable for sexual abuse inspires the senator to commit voter fraud. Echoing Trump's gross talking points, Tuberville ranted, "They're going to do anything they can to keep him from winning. It ain't gonna work ... people are gonna see through the lines, a New York jury, he had no chance."
Also circling the drain was Marco Rubio, who said — in front of people — “The jury is a joke. The whole case is a joke.” Real respect for the rule of law on display here. He continued, “If someone accuses me of raping them and I didn’t do it, and you’re innocent, of course you’re going to say something about it … it was a joke.” That’s not actually how anything works.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy avoided answering any questions about the verdict. Matching McCarthy's cowardice were Trump's rivals in the Republican primary, most of whom reportedly "stayed quiet as news of the verdict spread, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina."
A jury rules that the candidate currently curb-stomping you in the polls sexually abused a woman and you don't say anything? That's your strategy? Sure, she’s not a laptop or an email server, but this is still pretty bad. These people are pathetic.
“Ronna McDaniel suggests that suburban women are more concerned with TikTok than they are with Trump being found guilty of sexual abuse”
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1683660163
Mitt Romney did clearly state that the verdict was yet another reason Trump is "not suited to be president of the United States," and former Rep. Mo Brooks, whom Trump betrayed, correctly noted that “GOP CANNOT afford REPEAT sexual predator offender as 2024 president nominee. Offends voters badly." He added, “ America needs strongest GOP candidate. Trump ain’t it. Character matters."
However, Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel seemingly disagrees with character's relevance in a Republican primary. She insisted on Fox News that Americans are tied of all these investigations into Trump. It’s like super hero movie fatigue, except Marvel might eventually replace a major star accused of abusing women while Republicans are ready to nominate Trump again. I guess basic morality is absent in the MAGA-verse.
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I am shocked that people who don't believe in the personhood and bodily autonomy of women would support a rapist. Just shocked, I tell you.
As difficult as life in the suburbs can be, I have found, as a suburban woman, that I can be concerned about both the character of a presidential candidate AND inflation.